Queensland win brutal Origin encounter

The fire was back in the village. In fact, Cooper Cronk nearly burned the whole thing to the ground. And when the smoke cleared on the 32-8 rout at Suncorp Stadium, there lay a wistful reminder of what might have been for a Queensland side that lost the war but fired the final thundering volley.

If Cronk's absence for 70 minutes of game one and all of game two only made his quality all the more appreciated, the virtuoso performance upon returning from a broken arm was damning evidence of his influence on the Maroons, who showed that proclamations of their death were resoundingly premature.

There may have been little on the line in terms of the series but Cronk moved heaven and earth to be back in time for the third instalment. His boundless enthusiasm and dedication to recovery would prove an inspiration to the Queenslanders, while his efforts on the field showed no signs of hesitation in terms of his mending bones.

Cooper Cronk gave the Maroons direction that was missing in games one and two. Photo: Getty Images

It is to take nothing away from Daly Cherry-Evans, who deputised for Cronk for most of game one and all of game two, but the Storm halfback would prove to be the missing piece of a Queensland puzzle that nobody could quite assemble as they went down 2-0 in the series, failing to even get over the line in game two.

Advertisement

His comeback signalled the return of the shape and structure on which years of success had been built. And even as the wonderful NSW defence managed to hold up Queensland four times in the first half, Cronk's clever kicking and dictatorial direction - he barks orders like a clean-eating George Patton - ensured that, this time, the Maroons didn't lose their way.

There had been a distinct feeling of confidence within the Queensland camp as Cronk returned to the fold. Meninga confirmed as much after the game, saying players fed off his relentless competitiveness and poise in the contest, which has been sorely lacking for much of the campaign.

Cronk remains one of the most dedicated and driven players in the NRL and Meninga said he had no doubt Cronk would see out the game, despite not playing a game of any sort in two months,

"I was very confident he would play 80 minutes. He eats the right food, drinks the right stuff. He’s a true professional and he's important to our footy team," Meninga said.

"He gives structure to what we do, allows players like Cameron (Smith) and John (Thurston) to just play and he gives confidence to everybody around him. It was good to have him back. His contribution was excellent."

NSW v Queensland - Origin 3

With Cronk left to run most of the show, Smith and Thurston would produce their best games of the series, while Cronk's combination with new face and Storm team-mate Will Chambers helped the winger produce a debut of undoubted quality.

Smith admitted that Queensland had become frustrated by the NSW defence in instances throughout the series but Cronk's addition saw them continue to smash away until it finally cracked, then crumbled. Cherry-Evans would cut through to set up Smith late in the first half and the Maroons were off to the races.

"We wanted to be better this time around about persevering and continuing to build pressure. Over the first two games, when we didn’t get across the line, maybe we got a little bit frustrated, went outside of the game plan. Tonight, our goal was to stick to the plan and we did that," Smith said.

"The way we played tonight shows that the team isn’t finished. There was a lot of talk after the result in Sydney that this dynasty was over. But this team played extremely well and is good enough to go around next year and try to bring that shield back."

Cherry-Evans commanded so many headlines before game two as he battled a knee injury, so it was an intriguing twist in the narrative that his most telling touch of the series would come after his return to the bench, from where he contributed strongly as a makeshift forward.

He said he had no qualms about making way for Cronk, who deployed the full suite of skills to reinforce his position as the number one halfback in rugby league.

"I didn’t think twice about Cooper coming back in the side. A lot of people asked me during the week if I was OK with going back to the bench. I felt it was right, I knew it was right," Cherry-Evans said.

"Cooper is the general of this side and I can only hope that I’m learning and asking enough questions to put myself in the best position going forward."

Nobody in the Queensland camp would speculate about the 'what-ifs' should Cronk had been available for the entire series. But if anything, his injury illustrates how the loss of a key position player can cause a seismic shift in the balance of power when there is so little between two elite football sides.

30 comments so far

It was a fantastic show of maroon finesse. Thrilled. But surely Super Newman was in there somewhere.. playing every ball. ..After all Super Newman saves us every day ,everywhere. .according to him.

Commenter

libby

Location

Brisbane

Date and time

July 10, 2014, 7:08AM

heheheheheheGold.

Commenter

Bugs

Location

Free to Roam

Date and time

July 10, 2014, 8:11PM

NSW had to resort to grubby play in game two to win. Yep they 'won' the series alright. Last nights game demonstrated how outclassed they really are.

Commenter

Terry

Location

Brisbane

Date and time

July 10, 2014, 7:38AM

Cronk's absence, the reason NSW won Origin 1 & 2

Commenter

Storm enthusiast

Date and time

July 10, 2014, 8:31AM

Easy to play well when there is nothing to play for .... clearly the QLDers couldn't beat the mighty blues when it actually mattered and we love reading the excuses coming forward. Just accept it - number 1 team is NSW, NSW should dominate the Australian team selections, Gallen should be captain after being named man of the series.

Commenter

Mitch

Location

Sydney

Date and time

July 10, 2014, 9:01AM

Gee Mitch you're easily pleased, if my team got thrashed like NSW was last night I wouldn't be boasting about it.

But if you support NSW you generally don't get too much to cheer about.

Commenter

Northern

Date and time

July 10, 2014, 9:14AM

Can't see that there is anything clearly dominant about any win by 2 pts or even 4 when you throw in 50-50 ref calls. As for Gallen player of the series, haha, whinger of the series yes but nothing unusual there. The only thing funnier was Farah's pre-game claim that he is as good as Smith - yeahhh, sssure.

Commenter

Guest

Date and time

July 10, 2014, 9:19AM

Classic Blues comment "Easy to play well when there is nothing to play for".

Goes on about Qld having excuses but uses the excuse that there was nothing to play for.

Qld hold the title for 8 years.NSW hold the title for 2 games before losing to QLD

Hard luck Mitch. You are only as good as your last game.

Commenter

Danno

Location

Brisbane

Date and time

July 10, 2014, 10:52AM

Classic Blues comment "Easy to play well when there is nothing to play for".

Goes on about Qld having excuses but uses the excuse that there was nothing to play for.

Qld hold the title for 8 years.NSW hold the title for 2 games before losing to QLD

Hard luck Mitch. You are only as good as your last game.

Commenter

Danno

Location

Brisbane

Date and time

July 10, 2014, 10:52AM

They should make Gallen PM and all the NSW players his ministers.

Come off it, mate. I'm a NSW supporter but even I could see Game 2 for the grub-fest it was on both sides. And the reffing was too dodgy in that game for any of that to make things clear.

Last night I accepted that QLD is still the dominant side and if we're going to win properly we need to make some clearer strategy changes. No point getting full of ourselves now and getting smashed because of it next year.